How Many Calories Are You Burning?

Looking for alternatives to cardio? This article will make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck.

I’m sure working out and staying in shape is high on your priority list, because, well, you’re reading this. Unfortunately, sometimes doing the same ol’ workout, at the same ol’ gym, grows at first repetitive, and eventually dreadfully dull. So for those looking for new and exciting (read: not dreadfully dull) ways to burn calories and stay in shape, read on.

When it comes to picking a new form of cardio, it’s important to know what you’re getting into from a calorie expenditure perspective (especially if you’re trying to look as good as humanly possible come beach body season). As a rule of thumb (and common sense), any form of cardio that increases your heart rate will result in calories burned. Having established the obvious, it’s also important to note that these are all approximations. A top-notch athlete’s moderate effort level could be an average person’s max effort level, and obviously, the harder you work, the more calories you will burn. So, what type of cardio will help you burn the calories you’re looking to lose?

Yoga

When looking for a gym alternative, many (here’s looking at you ladies) try yoga first. While done at a much lower intensity level than other forms of working out, it’s still one of most beneficial. For despite not be burning as many calories as you would during more strenuous activities, you are conditioning and stretching your muscles, resulting in better overall athleticism and injury reduction.

For a 170lbs person, 30 minutes of moderate yoga burns roughly 155 calories, but again, it’s short sighted to measure yoga solely through calorie counts. The other associated benefits including faster recovery, and increased blood flow, make it a perfect complement to any strength training routine.

Swimming

A somewhat overlooked, but extremely beneficial, workout is swimming. High intensity but with little impact on your joints, swimming can, depending on effort level, burn a ton of calories. Swimming also allows you to either work all of your muscle groups, or specific ones, depending upon the stroke you use (butterfly, freestyle, breast stroke, etc.). Doing just a couple of leisurely laps at a slow pace will improve range of motion in both your shoulders and hips.

For a 170lbs person, 30 minutes of moderately intense swimming will burn just over 300 calories, while a vigorous effort level sustained for 30 minutes will burn nearly 400 calories.

Spinning

Having witnessed its popularity grow drastically in recent years, spinning’s another frequently chosen workout alternative. Many find it both fun and challenging, as it’s a huge calorie-burner and a communal experience. It too, like swimming, is both low impact on your joints and a great way to improve your cardiovascular capacity.

If done at a moderate effort level for 30 minutes, a 170lbs person will burn a whopping 425 calories.

Sprinting

Sprints. Not a new concept to any athlete, as they should be a focal point in any serious athlete’s training. Basically, you’ll be hard pressed to find a weightless exercise that helps to build more skeletal muscle and burn more fat than good ol’ fashioned sprints. Keep in mind that sprinting need not be boring! Pickup basketball or soccer, both of which require making short, explosive sprints frequently, both count as “sprinting” workouts.

For a 170lbs person, running sprints for thirty minutes will burn between 300 and 350 calories, depending upon the incline, and level of intensity.

In addition to yoga, swimming, and spinning, here are more calorie tallies for a 170lbs person after 30 minute sessions of the specified workout:

Biking (road): 170 calories
Boxing (sparring): 347 calories
Boxing (punching bag): 231 calories
Dancing: 173 calories
Jogging (>5mph): 350 calories
Jumping Rope: 400 calories

Look, before you complain again about how boring the gym has grown, and how tired you are of the treadmill, think about yoga, swimming, spinning, sprinting, biking, boxing, and any of the other countless cardio alternatives that exist. Keep it fresh, stay engaged, and continue to lose weight and burn fat.